Expert Testifies Amber Heard Has A 'Diminished' Role In 'Aquaman' Sequel

Actor Johnny Deppand ex-wife Amber Heard continue to make headlines as the defamation trial continues.

The couple has been facing each other at the Fairfax County Circuit Court for most of the past month. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is suing his ex-wife for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post where she claims that she is a domestic violence survivor. Although she did not mention Depp by name, he claims that he has lost movie roles due to the “clear implication” that he was her abuser. Heard claims that she has also been losing out on movie roles, including several scenes from the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel, and is countersuing for $100 million dollars.

On Monday morning, a hand surgeon testified that Depp's severed finger injury did not happen the way that he had alleged after reviewing medical records and photographic evidence. After a lunch break, Depp was expected to take the stand to be questioned by the defense. However, it seems that he is no longer expected to testify.

Entertainment industry consultant Kathryn Arnold testified that Heard's op-ed had "very little" impact on Depp's career before explaining that Amber Heard's career was significantly impacted.

Arnold testified that Heard has been in close to fifty productions "before the defamatory statements were made." She said her agents were "strategic" in that they tried to get Heard working with "better and better directors" as her career progressed.

"She went from that to getting Justice League," which then led to her role in "Aquaman" and "Aquaman 2" she explained. "Aquaman" made over a billion dollars at the box office and is reportedly the highest-grossing DC film to date.

She said that Heard received "emails of accolade" from the director and producer for her role in "Aquaman."

After the op-ed, she said that "requests for press" went silent. She said that there was a lot of "noise" about Heard on social media after the op-ed and referred to a "negative social campaign," saying that any time L'Oreal would mention Amber Heard, it would get "harassed" on social media.

Arnold testified that Heard was paid one million dollars for the first "Aquaman" film. Heard was reportedly supposed to make two million dollars for her role in the sequel. Arnold testified that Heard could have potentially doubled his salary for the movie had the defamatory statements not surfaced online. She also testified that Heard had a "diminished" role in the sequel.

Based on what she had learned about the film, Heard ends up in the hospital early on in the movie and doesn't get out of the hospital until the end. There was apparently supposed to be a fight scene that was removed from the film. Arnold described her scenes as "radically reduced" from what had first been presented to her.

She testified that Heard was not invited to a DC Fandom event and was not included in promotional materials. "She is not being associated with the tremendous amount of promotion that's going to be made for this movie," she said. "She's not going to be a part of it because of this negative campaign."

She mentioned that Heard had been cut out of press for "The Stand" series (based on the book by Stephen King) "for the same reasons." Heard was reportedly supposed to get a cover story for "The Stand" that was then "taken away."

Due to the negative press, Heard has "not been out there in the public eye" in her brand partnership with L'Oreal. Heard has not been a part of any other endorsement deals, either, allegedly due to the negative press that is surrounding her social media presence.

Under cross-examination, Arnold was questioned about the timing of the Waldman statements. Arnold felt that the social media press came on after the Waldman statements, and was a direct result of the statements. The questioning eventually ventured into Jason Momoa's career, and then Gal Gadot, with several quips being traded back and forth about "Dune" and the "Fast and Furious" franchise.

After listing all of the actors who played Batman, Arnold replied, "You're a movie buff, yeah."